Social media has been a staple in both online and instore businesses for a few years. If you’re an entrepreneur, then you should think about marketing your business on social media. It might not be something you’re used to, but anyone can argue that social media can be essential to the progress of a business. Online businesses have been on a rise since the start of COVID-19 and while most people are not new to social media, persons who venture into online businesses are relatively unaccustomed to how managing a business whether it be online or in store, works. A single post can cause irreversible damage to a business, but social media is necessary in almost every aspect of a business. It’s up to you to master how to separate the personal from the professional.
Managing a business or professional page takes more than just the knowledge of how to set up a Facebook and Instagram, or how quickly you answer messages. There’s a level of patience and tolerance that goes into communicating with the general public and as an everyday consumer of social media, it’s something most people lack when using their personal social media pages.
Why is keeping your personal and professional social media pages separate important?
It helps to be professional. Posting about your dog or your significant other in the same week that you post about your service or product is confusing, and a major turn off for potential customers or clients. It seems tedious to have to sift through your everyday, personal posts to get to what you’re offering professionally or vice versa. Who you are with your friends and family is most likely not the person you are when conducting business and your personal life and views might not interest other professionals.
It also helps to ensure that you’re reaching the appropriate target market. Merging business with pleasure is never a good idea and if you’re selling jewelry, own a tattoo parlor or do makeup, creating a separate page that persons can find easily when scouting is the best idea.
Managing separate accounts is surprisingly easier. You know what you’re posting and when you want to post it. With your personal page, you have more freedom to post when and if you want, because the page is there for your own manipulation. However, your professional page is for others, and consistent posting is mandatory. Both pages cannot have the same schedule plan, because both pages may not have the same audience.
Even when you’ve successfully branched off from your personal social media to create a professional account, there’s the fear of accidentally posting something inappropriate on your business account. It’s happened, and it might happen to you. Social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook and Twitter give you the option to have more than one account signed in, or more than one page and switching back and forth sometimes gets tricky. You have to be extremely conscious of where you post.
Create a business aesthetic; only what has to do with your business should be on your professional page. Accidentally posting on the wrong page is bad, but deliberately mixing business with pleasure is something you should never do. While your friends and family might not be bothered with your business ventures, clients, customers or coworkers might not be too thrilled about what goes on outside of the business.
